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The article weirdly (or unsurprisingly) does not mention diet, but the underlying study does. Immigrants might also be throwing off the average. They tend to g

The article weirdly (or unsurprisingly) does not mention diet, but the underlying study does. Immigrants might also be throwing off the average. They tend to grow taller in North America (not just second generation), again, unsurprisingly because of diet.

ramraj07 4y ago
I grew up in India and spent 7 years at UT southwestern where apparently half the students are Indian American and noticed the same, Indian Americans are much taller on average (by several inches), than Indians. I assumed it was diet (red meat was my suspicion) but I’ve come to meet many traditional Indian American families who follow very strict traditional vegetarian diets, so I’m starting to suspect it’s not just gross changes in diet but also changes in the nutritional value of the same food items.
- rippercushions 4y ago
  Sanitation surely plays a part as well. If tap water is filthy (as it is in virtually all of India) and you're constantly getting sick as a result, this will definitely impact growth.
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    If you have the means to travel to the US for college, you have the means to avoid consuming unfiltered tap water.
    - bobthepanda 4y ago
      I would imagine the big thing is air quality. India regularly tops air pollution lists: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-polluted_cities_by_particulate_matter_concentration https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-polluted_cities.... You can’t totally avoid outside air. Anecdotally I remember hearing of Chinese people moving abroad and having their chronic asthma clear up almost immediately.
    - rippercushions 4y ago
      It's not too hard or expensive to avoid drinking it straight up, but any restaurant you visit will wash food and surfaces with it, every bathroom you visit you'll wash your own hands with it, etc etc.
    - ramraj07 4y ago
      You’d be surprised how hard that can be. Unless you buy imported bottled water, you’re likely getting quite unregulated well water even if you buy 25 liter cans of the best brand here. Water treatment here is mere clorination and likely 90% of the population lives in places with no water supply (you just dig your own borewell).
- AngryData 4y ago
  How does food fortification compare between the two countries? Because I know in the US they fortify the shit out of almost every form of cheap grain foods with atleast iron and commonly with other vitamins and minerals.
Retric 4y ago
It does mention nutrition, but doesn’t consider pollution. Banning specific chemicals and possibly the organic food movement seems likely to have a real impact on rural populations in aggregate. However, I doubt you can pick any one specific cause and say it’s definitive.

ramraj07 4y ago

I grew up in India and spent 7 years at UT southwestern where apparently half the students are Indian American and noticed the same, Indian Americans are much taller on average (by several inches), than Indians. I assumed it was diet (red meat was my suspicion) but I’ve come to meet many traditional Indian American families who follow very strict traditional vegetarian diets, so I’m starting to suspect it’s not just gross changes in diet but also changes in the nutritional value of the same food items.

rippercushions 4y ago
Sanitation surely plays a part as well. If tap water is filthy (as it is in virtually all of India) and you're constantly getting sick as a result, this will definitely impact growth.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  If you have the means to travel to the US for college, you have the means to avoid consuming unfiltered tap water.
  - bobthepanda 4y ago
    I would imagine the big thing is air quality. India regularly tops air pollution lists: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-polluted_cities_by_particulate_matter_concentration https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-polluted_cities.... You can’t totally avoid outside air. Anecdotally I remember hearing of Chinese people moving abroad and having their chronic asthma clear up almost immediately.
  - rippercushions 4y ago
    It's not too hard or expensive to avoid drinking it straight up, but any restaurant you visit will wash food and surfaces with it, every bathroom you visit you'll wash your own hands with it, etc etc.
  - ramraj07 4y ago
    You’d be surprised how hard that can be. Unless you buy imported bottled water, you’re likely getting quite unregulated well water even if you buy 25 liter cans of the best brand here. Water treatment here is mere clorination and likely 90% of the population lives in places with no water supply (you just dig your own borewell).
AngryData 4y ago
How does food fortification compare between the two countries? Because I know in the US they fortify the shit out of almost every form of cheap grain foods with atleast iron and commonly with other vitamins and minerals.

Retric 4y ago

It does mention nutrition, but doesn’t consider pollution. Banning specific chemicals and possibly the organic food movement seems likely to have a real impact on rural populations in aggregate. However, I doubt you can pick any one specific cause and say it’s definitive.